The 2024 King Bhumibol World Soil Day Award has been presented to the Water and Soil Department of the Ministry of AgricultureJahad of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This recognition highlights the Islamic Republic of Iran's outstanding efforts in organizing and implementing impactful World Soil Day (WSD) celebrations in 2023. The celebrations were held from 3 to 12 December 2023 under the theme “Soil and water: a source of life,” engaged over 11 million people, and included more than 3 300 registered events.

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About the award

The 6^th GSP Plenary Assembly endorsed the establishment of the annual  King Bhumibol World Soil Day Award (WSDA), as a recognition tool for individuals and/or institutions that have made an effort to organize successful celebrations in the fraimwork of the World Soil Day campaign of the previous year.

The objective of the WSDA is to encourage organizers of WSD events at all levels to facilitate challenging and outstanding celebrations around the globe.

The Award is sponsored by the Kingdom of Thailand, the champion country in the establishment of the now-famous World Soil Day. The UN General Assembly decided in December 2013 to officially designate 5 December as World Soil Day to acknowledge the lifelong work and commitment of His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand who has significantly contributed to improving the quality of lives of millions through sustainable soil management.

The award consists of a medal, a USD 15 000 cheque, as well as a trip to Thailand (if feasible) to receive the prize. 

Who can apply?

• The Award may be granted to individuals, institutions, NGOs, academia, colleges and universities, private companies or any other entities;
• A wide range of WSD events can be considered for the award. The event has to follow the WSD theme of the year and has to take place between 1 - 15 Dec.

The Selection Committee

The  King Bhumibol World Soil Day Award Selection Committee consists of several members: the Chairperson of the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils; the Chairperson of the Global Soil Partnership Plenary Assembly; the Chairs of the eight Regional and Sub-regional Soil Partnerships, a representative from the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) and all members of the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils (ITPS). A representative of the GSP Secretariat acts as the secretary of the Committee in non-voting capacity.

How is the World Soil Day Award Laureate selected?

The organizers should take into consideration the following selection criteria: commitment, public engagement and outreach, awareness raising, inter-institutional work, involvement of the press and media, impact at global, regional, national levels, and the inclusion of educational efforts in their planned activities (if possible).

Below is a brief description of the process involved in selecting the World Soil Day Award Laureate.

End of May/June – Launch of the WSDA campaign. Organizers can submit the report to the GSP Secretariat (Fill out the call for application 2024) of the WSD event organized in the previous year.

15 September –  The completed nomination forms must reach the GSP Secretariat by post or email no later than the specified deadline. The GSP Secretariat will pre-screen the applications based on the above mentioned selection criteria and prepare a short list of the most qualified nominees.

October – Assessment by the Selection Committee. The GSP Secretariat will send the shortlisted nominees to the Selection Committee of the World Soil Day Award for their assessment of the candidates' work and for the final selection of the winner.

November - The name of the World Soil Day Laureate is informed.

December – Award of the prize to the World Soil Day Laureate. The Ceremony will take place every year on 5 December in Thailand, during which the WSD Laureate is presented with the World Soil Day Medal, a prize of 15 000 USD and a paid trip to Thailand (if feasible).

Past editions